A True Friend
by MusicalPrime
Summary: AU Primeverse a few days before Tailgate's death. Arcee's had enough of people rejecting her just because she's a femme warrior. She's tired of being called weak and decides to leave her team once and for all. But when her partner shows up as she's running away will she change her mind? Or is it too late? No pairings. Just Tailgate being a really awesome friend.


**Just a random idea that popped into my head and though "eh, what the heck?" This is a few days before Tailgate was killed by the way. Hope you enjoy!**

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It was a dark night on Cybertron. The small Autobot base had long since went silent and everything seemed to be at peace. The stillness of the night was shattered, however, as a Cybertronian motorcycle drove away from the base. The femme, Arcee, felt completely humiliated. She had been on the Delta Team for years and was quickly rising through the ranks and may even become commander of that team. She thought that since she had finally become someone in the Autobot ranks that the sexist and hurtful comments would end. She turned out to be horribly, horribly wrong. She drove as fast as she could away from the base, intending on never returning. She'd join another team or just go solo like some other bots she's heard of.

Soon enough the sound of a second engine leaving the base echoed through the night. Arcee knew who it was. Even though she knew he was the one mech who'd never hurt her, Arcee refused to stop. Soon enough they were both racing down the road. Arcee tried to shake him, but the mech refused to give up. Finally he sighed and stopped following her. Arcee drove for a few more miles before stopping and hiding alongside the road. She was exhausted and felt completely useless. She heard someone transforming nearby so she quickly turned her gaze away from the mech.

"Go away, Tailgate. I know what you're going to say. 'It's stupid to run away. Those aftheads don't know what they're talking about. You're not just a femme.' Well you know what? I'm sick of hearing it! I'm sick of being treated like scrap because I'm one of the very few femmes who managed to become a warrior. I'm sick of only having one person stand up for me. I'm sick of being an _Autobot_!" She practically spat out the last word like it was acid on her glossa. Tailgate froze in his steps. He never thought that the harrassment would get so bad that she didn't want to be an Autobot anymore. He shook his helm.

"Very well, I won't say any of that. I know better than to suffer the wrath of an angry femme. Maybe that's why those mechs back their are such aftheads. They probably want to see if the rumors are true. I remember the day I found out you were gonna be on my team. I heard that some Decepticons would scream and run in the opposite direction when they saw you, and that was when you were just in training! I told the others, and they decided to test that theory by pushing you. If they pushed you too far, why didn't you use physical force against them or switch to the Decepticons?" Tailgate asked casually. Arcee looked up at him in surprise. He was talking like this was just a conversation someone would have over a cube of energon.

"I'm too loyal to join the Decepticons. When I heard about Megatron and the things he'd done, I made the decision to join the Autobots and help stop him by any means possible. If I strike at my commrades I'd feel like a traitor. Whether or not I'd be accused as one I'm not sure, but I refuse to be put in a situation where I cause harm to bots with the same general objective as me." Arcee explained. Tailgate nodded slightly and sat down next to her with a sigh. She looked at him like he was a complete nutjob. After being partners with him for a few solar cycles she'd thought she would've been used to him by now. Obviously not.

"Yeah I kinda figured. You didn't seem like the kind of bot to run away when things got tough. Yeah I was really impressed with the records I was given of you, 'Cee." Tailgate said. Arcee was still at loss of how _he_ became the leader of the Delta Team. In retrospect, it actually made a lot of sense. He was smart, knew how to talk, and could settle a dispute in minutes. Tailgate stared at her for a minute before putting a servo on her shoulder. "So why did you run?"

"I...I...don't know." Arcee said. She buried her faceplates in her servos and turned away from him. Tailgate didn't back off like she thought he would. Instead, he moved closer and pulled her into a hug. Arcee didn't resist or even complain about being treated like an upset sparkling. In fact, it felt like a huge weight was taken off her shoulders when he hugged her. All she needed was a true friend to help her get past the horrible parts. She eventually built up enough strength to hug him back, surprising him greatly. "Thanks for everything, 'Gate."

"Hey, anything for my femme." Tailgate said with a cocky grin. Arcee knew he was joking but couldn't resist smacking him upside the helm for calling her his femme. Tailgate laughed and stood up. He gave Arcee a servo up and they began to walk to base. They walked for a few minutes before Tailgate stopped them with a large smirk across his faceplate. "So, parnter, what do you say to a race? First one back to base wins? Loser owes the winner a cube of high grade."

"You're so on. Three two one GO!" Arcee exclaimed before she transformed and drove off. Tailgate promptly transformed and followed her, yelling that she was a cheater. She merely laughed as they both drove at top speed towards the base. It was no longer as dark as it once was now that the sun began to dawn. Little did either both know that soon their friendship would be shattered by a sadistic, spidercon.

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**Tada! Hope you guys liked it! I figured since Arcee was a femme in the war and some guys are complete jerks that she's probably dealt with a lot of scrap.**

**Fyi: I AM NOT BASHING GUYS! I'm not saying all men are sexist but there are some out there! If you think I was bashing guys in anyway feel free to PM me and tell me where in the story you see me bashing them. I'll either explain what's really going on or go back and change it if it truly is bad.**

**Reviews are welcomed!**

**Until all are one!**


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